States Say DHS Is Tying Grants To Immigration Agenda, Again

By Ganesh Setty

A coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia told a Rhode Island federal court Wednesday that the Trump administration is still unlawfully tying certain grant funding to their assistance with immigration enforcement efforts, in violation of the court's permanent injunction rulings.

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Ill. Widow Sues Over Fatal 'Projectile' Whipped Cream

By Lauraann Wood

Walmart, Sam's Club and an Illinois container company are facing Illinois state wrongful death claims from a widow who claims they sold whipped cream in a defective cannister that exploded after falling from her fridge and contributed to her husband's premature death.

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States Urge Justices To Fix Prediction Markets' Legal 'Chaos'

By Katryna Perera

A coalition of 39 states and the District of Columbia urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to resolve a circuit split over the regulation of prediction markets like Kalshi, saying the industry's "aggressive theory of preemption" threatens states' sovereignty and ability to protect their residents. 

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Crypto Founder Indicted Over $9M Crypto Rug Pull

By Celeste Bott

Cryptocurrency founder Alexander Sisemore has been indicted in Illinois federal court for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that netted him about $9 million, with prosecutors alleging he concealed tokens he had allocated himself for free and surreptitiously sold them while misleading investors about the project's ownership.

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Dark Web Marketplace Co-Founder Gets 40 Years In Prison

By Gina Kim

An Illinois federal judge on Monday handed down a 40-year prison sentence for the co-creator of Empire Market, a $430 million darkweb digital marketplace that provided a platform for people to buy and sell controlled substances, stolen credit card information, and counterfeit currency following the takedown of AlphaBay in 2017.

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BMW Beats X5 Transmission Defect Suit, For Now

By Gina Kim

BMW has defeated for now a proposed class action alleging it knew about a transmission component defect causing some of its cars to jerk and shudder but refused to cover repair costs, with a New Jersey federal judge saying Wednesday the allegations are insufficient to infer BMW knew about any defect.

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JPML Consolidates Nevro, Abbott Spinal Cord Device Suits

By Joyce Hanson

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has created separate MDLs over purportedly defective spinal cord stimulators manufactured by Nevro LLC and Abbott Laboratories, rejecting the manufacturers' arguments that the cases' plaintiffs do not share enough common factual questions to warrant consolidation.

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Series

Illinois Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3

Recent banking developments in Illinois include significant new consumer protection legislation, three meaningful Seventh Circuit decisions, and a high-profile constitutional challenge to the state's new digital asset tax, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

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Why And How To Build A Neurodiversity-Informed Practice

By better understanding neurodiversity and implementing simple accommodations for clients with autism, ADHD or learning differences, attorneys can build stronger relationships with those who may otherwise struggle to obtain and benefit from legal services, while developing good habits that will benefit everyone they represent, says Ting Cheung at Sanford Heisler.

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Omni Bridgeway Raises $1B For New Litigation Funding

By Ryan Boysen

Litigation funder Omni Bridgeway has raised a new $1 billion fund from mostly repeat investors, with plans to deploy the money broadly across countries and case types while avoiding debt leverage.

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Alito Explains Recusal But Says It Shouldn't Become Practice

By Katie Buehler

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said this week he "reluctantly" recused himself from a dispute that could decide whether state and local government can sue Big Oil in state courts for damages related to greenhouse gas emissions, while suggesting the high court's members shouldn't make a practice of explaining their reasons for stepping away from cases.

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Justices' Docs Should Belong To Public, Gov't Watchdogs Say

By Jack Karp

Nearly two dozen government accountability groups are calling for Congress to enact a law that would make U.S. Supreme Court justices' papers government property that would someday be available to the public.

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Analysis

Uncertainty Surrounds Judge Newman's 11th Circ. Transfer

By Dani Kass

Chief Justice John Roberts' order to transfer the Federal Circuit Judicial Council's disability investigation of a suspended 99-year-old judge to another court offers the neutral evaluation the judge has long been asking for, but attorneys are concerned about the transparency of the proceeding.

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California Federal Judge Jeffrey White To Retire After 24 Years

By Bonnie Eslinger

Senior U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White will retire at the end of the year after nearly a quarter-century on the federal bench in Northern California.

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ABA Accreditor Leader Remembered For Passion And Intellect

By Emma Cueto

After her sudden death while leading the American Bar Association council that handles law school accreditation, Melissa Hart is being remembered as a passionate and fiercely intelligent jurist, mentor and leader who will be missed as the council navigates numerous challenges to its accreditor status.

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